Thursday, April 29, 2010

Richmond Preview

• Allmendinger has made six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at the .75-mile Richmond, Va. track• Allmendinger holds down 24th place in the owner points standings

AJ Allmendinger on Richmond: “Richmond is a cool track to go to. Obviously it is completely opposite of racing at Talladega. We go from one of the largest tracks back to short track racing. I’m looking forward to what this weekend will bring. We had a really strong No. 43 Ford Fusion this past weekend but didn’t have quite the result to show for it. I’m so proud of this Richard Petty Motorsports team. They gave me great pit stops at Talladega and good pit stops will be key this Saturday night at Richmond.

“The fans are going to get to see lots of beating and banging under the lights. We grabbed the pole and ran well a couple weeks ago at Phoenix and while Phoenix isn’t exactly like Richmond, I’m ready to get there and see what we can do with this No. 43 Valvoline Ford Fusion.”

Crew Chief Mike Shiplett’s Thoughts on Richmond: “Richmond has a really compact schedule, almost like a one day show, so it’ll be a busy weekend. The track is great though and it’s cool to race there under the lights. It’s always great to get back to short-track racing. Going into Richmond we now have a pretty good understanding of the spoiler. This No. 43 Valvoline team has had some strong runs the last couple of races even though last week in particular, we didn’t have the finishes that equal those runs.

“Track position is really key here so how we qualify will be a big focus and then our pit stops will have to all be solid. Richmond is a high speed track, but the fans are definitely going see some beating and banging. Like with Phoenix a couple of weeks ago, we’ll face practicing and qualifying during the daytime and racing at night. We’ll have to keep our eye on how the track changes as the sun goes down and be sure we’re prepared to make any necessary changes to the car to adjust to changing conditions.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 Valvoline team led by crew chief Mike Shiplett has prepared chassis No. 289 for this Saturday’s race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. This is the Ford Fusion Allmendinger and the No. 43 team raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February.

Support The Paralyzed Veterans of America: There are several ways you can help support the PVA, a veterans service organization established in 1946 that helps our military heroes who have experienced spinal cord injury or dysfunction. Enter a raffle to win a Jeep CJ-2A Willys restored by Petty's Garage. Visit www.pva.org/jeep. Don’t miss out on the second annual King’s Cup—Karting For A Cause event hosted by Richard Petty on Tuesday, May 25. To learn more about how you can participate in the King’s Cup, visit: www.pva.org/gokart.

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I'm not affiliated with AJ or the Allmendinger family in any way. Nor am I employed by or affiliated with JTG Daugherty Racing. I am just a very devoted fan who enjoys sharing information about my favorite driver.